To eliminate the restriction of hunting bears over bait
HB 4559 would eliminate a current prohibition against killing bears using bait during overlapping deer and bear hunting seasons in West Virginia. This change directly affects hunters who use bait for deer during seasons when bear hunting is also permitted. The bill amends §20-2-22a to remove the restriction that currently bans bear kills via bait during these concurrent seasons, while maintaining other existing bear hunting rules like tagging requirements and prohibitions on hunting cubs or small bears. The policy change specifically targets the bait restriction during joint deer-bear seasons, without altering other regulations governing bear hunting.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 20, 2026
Last action Jan 20, 2026
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
5
Key actions
0
Committee
3
Jan 20, 2026
Committee
To House Agriculture, Commerce and Tourism
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Committee
To House Government Organization
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Committee
To Government Organization
lower
1 primary · 2 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Eric Brooks
RRepublican
Co
Elliott Pritt
RRepublican
Co
Robbie Martin
RRepublican
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